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Title

File 012

Transcript

HOUSTON VOICE www.houstonvoice.com
MAY 27, 2005 11
What do you-*^
think is the significance of a gay
and lesbian athletic event such
as the Lone Star
Classic?
The Lone Star Classic is a premier event to show off the wonderful city of Houston and our
diverse cultural community.
Teams from around the U.S. converge on our city to compete
and share experiences with our
southern hospitality flair. This is
our 16th year to host this event,
which is obviously a success.
GERALD ENNIS, 40
Spring
Medical Accounting
It's a great opportunity to meet
players and friends from other
cities and to promote the
Montrose Softball League and
the city of Houston. It's a great
way to promote our community
and have fun at the same time.
GARY GANO, 30-plus
Houston
Senior human
resources specialist
It's a great opportunity for gays
and lesbians to meet people
from other cities in a healthy
environment and have a lot of
fun while competing in a friendly
way. Anytime such groups can
get together for these events is
a chance to feel a part of something special, and that is always
great for promoting a positive
self-image.
BILLSANS0M,47
Houston
Customer service representative
The significance will be an
opportunity to get together in a
healthy environment and meet
new friends.
TISH ORTEGON, 37
Houston
Special project coordinator
It provides an alternative way to
meet people other than the club
scene
CICIRESENDEZ34
Houston
Education
Sound off about what's happening in your world at www.houstonvoice.com/soundoff.
Interviews and photos by Dalton DeHart
letter to the editor
Rumors that still persist about
Lobo Bookshop need to be dispelled
To the Editor:
1 would have preferred to remain silent in the seclusion in which I now
live. However, despite my withdrawal from the gay community, many stories have come to my attention as to the status of myself in particular.
Contrary to such rumors, Lobo Bookshop & Cafe was not closed as the
result of any civil or criminal action against the business or myself. I
was not arrested. I was not thrown into jail. I did not die. I did not leave
the state with a suitcase full of ill-gotten gains.
While the situation with Lobo was no doubt due to mistakes on my part
over the last ten years since my partner in business as in life, Bill White,
died, the immediate cause of the action I was forced to take on 10
February 2004 was the direct result of one action.
At the repeated urging of the company's then attorney, Lobo filed for
bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in October of 2003. The immediate effect of that was twofold: All our creditors were notified by the U. S.
Trustee's Office of this action, and a payout agreement agreed to in April
2003 with the Internal Revenue Service was voided.
However, within a few weeks, we were informed that the company's
attorney was not licensed to practice law at the time of the filing and
since legal representation is required for business Chapter 11 cases, our
bankruptcy was thrown out and we immediately lost the umbrella of protection from creditors.
Several of our principle creditors, thanks to a tip from one gay creditor, were banding together to force the company into involuntary bankruptcy. It was our belief and that of our newly acquired legal counsel, an
old and valued friend from our activist days, that it was better for the
company to pursue voluntary bankruptcy. And that is what we did.
Granted, there were contributing factors, mainly the theft of company
records by a former employee who also happened to be involved in some
manner with the aforementioned original attorney.
It also came to my attention that this same employee had falsified company records, apparently at the behest of other parties, to inflate the
company's debt at the time of the Chapter 11 filing. This had the effect of
depreciating the value of the company by nearly 50 per cent.
I would hope that those who actually have known me were aware that
everything went back into the company. For those who assumed that I
escaped with a barrel of loot, perhaps the foreclosure of my beloved home
on Avondale back in September and the loss of my automobile in
December might attest to the falsity of that rumor.
As I approach the beginning of my eighth decade next year (that means
I turn 70 then), I have much to regret but most of all is the loss of so
many valued customers, many of whom were more than simply cus
tomers. That was the driving force of the more than 30 years I spent fostering the life of Lobo. Like MacArthur's old soldiers, I too shall now
fade away.
Larry Lingle
Houston